All posts tagged ‘Kaleidoscope Track’

Dragon*Con has tracks that appeals to all kinds types, but you may wonder if it is appropriate for little geeklings. After I became a parent, I started noticing the kids in strollers and babies in slings all over the con. But I always thought my daughter wouldn’t have that great of a time when she was smaller. Now that she is almost four, I thought it was time to try a partial day at the con.

There have been several panels with GeekMom writers in the past year, such as at New York Comic Con, PAX, and PAX East. I saw videos of those panels and they looked like quite a bit of fun. There had never been a GeekMom panel at Dragon*Con, so I worked with the Kaleidoscope track to make this panel a reality.

The Are You A Geek Parent? panel took place on Friday, August 31st at 1pm. We had a packed room of about 80 people and it was a great success.

I came up with the idea of trying to get a panel at Dragon*Con many months ago. The only track that I had any contacts with was the Whedonverse track, but I knew that wouldn’t be a great fit for a GeekMom panel. I asked around to my friends and I got the contact information for the track director of the Kaleidoscope track from my friend and author Janine Spendlove. The Kaleidoscope track is a new track that is geared towards younger kids from the ages of 9 and 13. It was the perfect track for a GeekMom panel. It just took an email to the track director to get the ball rolling.

The Are You A Geek Parent? panel featured myself, GeekMom Patricia Vollmer, and GeekMom Ruth Suehle, and author and geek parent, Bryan Young. We also had a Kaleidoscope track member, Trish, who led our panel. She had a variety of topics for us to talk about.

Dragon*Con, one of the biggest fan conventions in the country, is fast approaching. First organized in 1987, it’s held yearly over Labor Day weekend in Atlanta, GA. Over 40,000 fans from all of the world will be coming to take part in this year’s massive weekend of geekery from Friday, August 31 through Monday, September 3. The con encompasses 5 host hotels and has 40 different fan tracks that include science, movies, TV, costuming and more. Just about any geek can find something to enjoy while attending Dragon*Con.

For the first time, GeekMom and GeekDad will have a panel at Dragon*Con. “Are You a Geek Parent?” will take place on Friday, August 31st at 1:00 pm in the Kaleidoscope track room, which is in the Marriott hotel (Rooms L405 – L406). Join us for a question-and-answer session as we talk about being a geek and being a parent. You can hear more about our panel on the latest GeekMom podcast.

I will also have the GeekMom Pony, Curiosity Cientifica, with me throughout the con. You can find me and see her in person by following me (@ChaosMandy) on Twitter. The GeekMom team, which also includes GeekMom Patricia (@vollmerdp) and GeekMom Ruth (@suehle), will be live tweeting as well, or check out GeekMom’s Twitter feed (@GeekMomBlog) for the latest news.

On Saturday morning, Patricia and I will be marching in the Dragon*Con Parade with the Kaleidoscope track as Disney characters! The parade is open to anyone to come to, even if you don’t have Dragon*Con badges.

I’m looking forward to Dragon*Con and I hope to meet some of you there!